Attracting girls through 'edutainment'
It's been a smidge more than a decade since I was in high school and had to answer all of the "what's next for you" questions. The daughter of a college science dean, I was certainly exposed to more biology than I ever cared to know. As a grade school student, I spent countless hours after school waiting in my dad's office and labs, where I saw students conduct experiments on animals and learn human anatomy by putting organs back inside life-sized mannequins. My parents, both trained as teachers, were always showing me how to do things -- from putting shingles on a roof to solving algebra equations.
Still, the thought of having to dissect frogs or other dead animals in a college biology class made me squemish. So, for me, the answer to what was next was any career path that kept me out of having to smell formaldehyde. With biology out of the question, I figured anything health-related was gone too. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed playing with my Apple IIE, but I never even considered the role computer science plays in the medical field.
Last week, I listened as two female computer science majors, Laura and Kristen, talked on TechnoFiles (mp3) about the need to get younger students, especially girls, interested in computer science – a major often characterized as for nerds only. The students, through funds from the National Science Foundation and UMR's Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences, are developing a game that's in the same style as the popular "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"
In this “edutainment” program, elementary school students would work through visual games and questions, interlaced with career snapshots of what real female computer science graduate from UMR do in their jobs to impact society. One example where women in computer science have a direct impact on society is one alumna’s work with automaker BMW. Her work on computers systems that directly impact vehicle safety will be one snapshot feature embedded into the game.
Laura and Kristen, who will graduate in May, are on to something here. Now they just need UMR alumni to support their project by taking their computer science job survey.